John
Tomaszewicz had a career as an electrical engineer before he decided
to venture into the world of amp building. The TZZ-35H head on review
here is powered by two EL34s in cathode bias, and features Preamp Gain,
Drive, and Sustain controls, 3-band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble), Presence
and Cut controls, and a Master Volume. Tomaszewicz points out that this
amp is unique in its overall design and contains “many original
circuits not found anywhere else.” His focus on reliability has
also led to the use of high-grade components, such as PEC pots, Sprague
and/or SBE “orange drop” capacitors, and over-rated power
and output transformers that can handle double the wattage that this
amp puts out. The PC board construction is clean and rugged, and the
chassis-mounted tube sockets are wired point-to-point for reliability
and ease of servicing. As you might expect, the TZZ-35H is entirely U.S.
made.

Tomaszewicz says that the design of this amp was
born out of frustration he experienced while trying to record the sounds
he was hearing in his head. The tonal goals he sought were rich your
guitar is turned up. High settings will summon lots of overdrive, and
the Preamp Gain setting also makes a big difference in the overall
response of the Drive control. Lastly, the Sustain control slathers
on compression to give the notes even more sing factor. What’s cool is that the dynamics don’t
feel overly compressed—even at high settings—so you can use
this control to make even lower-gain tones sound thicker and more sustaining.
In the gonzo gain modes, however, turning up the Sustain knob makes it
super easy to get feedback just by hammering notes or digging in slightly
with your pick. Another benefit of the Sustain function is how it makes
the tones sound smoother and more “produced,” which is perhaps
what Tomaszewicz was really looking for when recording his guitar tracks.

The
tonal signature of the TZZ-35H is in the Marshall camp, but the cathode
biasing and the addition of Presence and Cut controls allows for some
livelier tonalities that are a little left of Marshall—perhaps
even edging toward the Matchless side of town. Here too, by using a wide
open presence setting while rolling back the brights via the Cut control,
you can squeeze a bit more juicy sustain from the power stage at higher
volumes. And another plus of the cathode biasing is that you can swap
in different output tubes—such as 6L6s or KT66s—without having
to rebias.

The TZZ-35H is fun to play and has some unique
tonal aspects. It’s
more of an overdrive machine, but if that’s what you’re aiming
for, you’ll dig what it has to offer.